Being The New Girl
by BonesBird
Summary: Bethan and her family move to America and meet the team. The second story in the "No Place To Be" series.
1. Back To Tuam

**Title: Being The New Girl  
****Author: BonesBird  
****Co-Author:  
****Summary: Bethan and her family move to America and meet the team. The second story in the "No Place To Be" series.  
****Disclaimer: Bethan is mine. Ffion, Cerys and Suzanne are mine. None of the others.  
****Lyrics: Back To Tuam - The Saw Doctors**

**So, I finished "No Place To Be" and this is just a little multi-chap introducing her to the team, other than Reid and Hotch. Its my team from my other stories, and Carrie, who is introduced in Clare's stories. I recommend you read "NPTB" first. Yes I'm back to having lyrics. Also, I decided to do this as first person from Bethan's POV, purely because I've never done that before. Just so you know, Ffion is based on Karen from a British comedy show called "Outnumbered" if you go on Youtube and type in "Karen Outnumbered" you'll see why.**

_

* * *

Oh its true as god  
__I'm telling you straight  
__I'm on my way and I just can't wait_

I packed the last box away, the courier company I'd chosen to use were great. They were picking everything up from the flat today, it was being delivered to our new address tomorrow, I was just hoping we'd beat it across the Atlantic. It was a huge move for all of us, I was still amazed that Suzanne had agreed to move with us.

"Mummy, I'm staying here" Ffion said, sitting on the top of the stairs just inside the doors. "I didn't agree to move, so I'm staying in my room"

"I don't think Detective Marlston and Gina really want an inbuilt five year old, Ffion" I called to her as I signed the stuff off to the courier, "So come on, all your toys are going to be in America soon"

"I don't want to go to America. It smells there" Ffion shouted, with her hands on her hips. My five year old was far too stubborn. I looked to Cerys, who looked up from her buggy and shook her head.

"What makes you think it smells there?" I called back, as I saw Suzanne drive into the car park. I let Cerys out of her pushchair, and folded it up

"The TV said it smells" Ffion shouted, before running to the grass beside the building. I let Suzanne deal with Cerys while I went to Ffion, I sat on the grass next to her,

"What's the real problem Fee?"

"I'll miss my friends" she whispered, climbing into my lap,

"You will make new friends. I promise. My new boss has a little boy who is about your age" I wrapped my arms around her, and grabbed her Ronnie Rhino teddy off the floor "You'll be able to teach him all about Ronnie" I said, giving her cheek a kiss as I put her into Suzanne's car.

"Is she alright?"

"She didn't sleep last night, she was too excited. Now she doesn't want to go" I said to Suzanne, "Are you sure you're alright with having Cerys while I got get everything sorted"

"Yes, its only ten days, my one caveat is that you make sure my flat is still available" she whispered, matching my voice level, Suzanne was a writer and had friends in that area of Virginia

"I thought you called them, and they said it was available?" I asked as we moved around the car, all my things in the boot.

"I did, but I want you to make sure." Suzanne said, the drive to the airport passed largely in silence, Ffion slowly drifting off to sleep in the back seat, for which I was grateful for. I said a quick goodbye to Suzanne and Cerys, before carrying Ffion through.

Two hours later and I was getting Ffion into her seat on the plane, after her nap she was ready to drive me insane for a while. I knew she would, I'd travelled with her before.

"Mummy, how do aeroplanes stay up?" she asked, I shook my head as someone took the seat beside me

"I don't know, how do you think they stay up"

"I think that really we're not flying but that there is an invisible giant monster that makes sure the planes get where they are going, and it goes rar, rar all the time"

"I'm sure that's right! Well done Fee"

"Can I look out the window?"

"When we're flying yes"

"Why not now"

"Mummy doesn't like flying, Ffion." I said, sitting back as an announcement came over, and we were ready to take off.

* * *

12 hours later I was glad to be off the plane, through customs, and waiting for Hotch to pick me up. We had agreed that he'd pick me up in DC rather than me trying to find my way. I hoped I was pulling him away from anything important. Especially as it was a Saturday. I would want to be spending the day with my kids, not picking up new co-workers from the airport. It was almost 5pm though, meaning 10pm in England.

"Mummy, where are we going now" Ffion asked as Hotch walked over to us, I smiled at him before bending down to talk to Ffion

"We're going to go and see our new flat" I said, picking her up "hi, Ffion this is Hotch" I said, smiling as he buried her head in my shoulder "Fee, you're not shy, come on, say hello" I smiled as she stuck her hand out to him, moving her head so it was still on my shoulder but she could see him.

"Hello" he said, politely shaking her hand "Jack's in the car, I thought Fion…"

"My name is Ffion. Its said Fee" Ffion piped up from my shoulder, I rubbed her leg with my hand

"Ffion, would like someone her own age to talk to" Hotch smiled at her, before picking up my bag and suitcase and leading us towards his car. I helped Ffion get in the back, where Jack was watching a DVD, I heard Ffion exclaim it was one of her favourites as I went to climb in the passenger side, before realising it was the drivers side. I turned to go round the other side and bumped straight into Hotch.

"Sorry, the whole 'car on the wrong side' is gonna take me some getting used to" I laughed off the awkward moment between them. Moving round to the other side.

"How was your flight"

"It was OK after Ffion fell asleep, about 2 hours in. Before that I had to explain that the plane was not being carried by a giant monster. I'm also never letting Suzanne watch Friends while Ffion is around as she spent half an hour worrying about the 'left phalange'"

"Makes me quite glad I've never had to travel with Jack anywhere" he laughed, as both the kids laughed in the back seat. "I undersigned the lease for you this morning. The apartment is furnished. So you'll have to shop for your personal choices, but at least you've got somewhere, you're in the apartment above us"

"Well, I should give you fair warning. My girls think jumping is an Olympic sport. Cerys especially" We shared a few more jokes as we drove to the apartment building, half an hour away, I smiled as Jack ran down to what was obviously their flat, while Hotch helped Ffion and I up to our apartment, I counted the hours and realised it would be nearly 11pm in England. I text Suzanne, saying we'd landed and were going to sleep.

"Thanks for the help, Hotch" I said, smiling as he walked to the door.

"I'll come and see you in the morning, if you need anything, or help getting anywhere. You can meet my wife."

"That would be great, thanks" I smiled and shut the door after him. I leant against it and slid to the floor. Knowing my own feeling. I kept telling myself 'Dammit, Bethan Maebh, he's a married man' but so far, it wasn't helping.


	2. Listen To Your Friends

**Title: Being The New Girl  
****Author: BonesBird  
****Co-Author:  
****Summary: Bethan and her family move to America and meet the team. The second story in the "No Place To Be" series.  
****Disclaimer: Bethan is mine. Ffion, Cerys and Suzanne are mine. None of the others.  
****Lyrics: Listen To Your Friends - New Found Glory (in honour of Jess)**

**Haha, yeah. Bethan fancies a bit of Hotch. I'm writing this from Bethan's POV as I don't have to be anal about using British phrases. Hope you're enjoying it. This is going to be the Sunday part 1, you'll get part 2 in a couple of hours. I'm still not getting any emails from the site (even when I update) so I'll reply to any reviews as soon as I see them.**

**As I was writing this, I had a crazy guy walk into my house. So calls to (and from) the police ensued. The man was mentally ill and was taken to the hospital after my neighbours (two big blokes) got him in and sat down. Hopefully that's the end of it and I'll sleep well tonight. Muse loved it though, and has given me a case-fic idea, so watch this space.**

**

* * *

**

_Just then I found a note in my pocket  
__It read "I don't ever wanna see you again"  
And I guess that explains  
Why I can't remember the rest of the night _

I was woken by a loud knock on the door. Ffion was sprawled out on the bed next to me, after demanding she couldn't sleep in the other room. I opened the door to find the courier at the door

"Hello" I said, feeling a little groggy, I realised I was pretty badly jet lagged still.

"Delivery from England for Bethan Callahan"

"Yeah that's me, I didn't expect it here today" I looked blearily as I signed the clipboard

"You sent it overnight delivery. Where do you want me to put the boxes?" I looked around

"Just put them in front of the sofa. Are all five here?"

"Yes ma'am" he said, and carried them in as I looked at my bare kitchen. I smiled as I saw a little person run in through my door

"Hello miss Calalan" Jack said, I looked up to see Hotch and a slight, blonde woman who was clearly his wife, I smiled at them both, before bending down to talk

"Callahan, Jack, and you can call me Beth. Ffion is still asleep" I said to him, smiling as he jumped on the sofa and pulled his game out of his pocket

"Bethan, this is my wife, Veronica. She's on the team as well"

"Hi" she said, a smile on her face. I shook her hand before being distracted by a cry from my bedroom

"Mummy I wet the bed" said Ffion, coming out to me crying

"Sorry, nice to meet you Veronica, I would offer you a brew, but I have no tea, or coffee, or milk" I said, picking Ffion up as she cried. "If you just wait here I'll go clean up a little bit" I said, taking Ffion down to the bathroom and running her a bath, then stripping the bed, hearing Hotch and Veronica talking in the living room. 20 minutes later I went back out to them, leaving Ffion to dress herself,

"Really sorry about that, I'm sure you've had it yourself " I nodded to Jack and got a knowing smile from Hotch, while Veronica just looked frosty. I wondered what was causing me to catch attitude,

"Jack stopped, not long after his fifth birthday. I didn't meet Veronica until a little after that

"Oh, so, Jack isn't yours" I said, looking at Veronica who shook her head

"No, no. I'm not sure I want one of my own yet. Is… Ffion?" I nodded as she pronounced Ffion's name "Is Ffion your only child?" she looked to where Ffion dived on the couch and wrestled Jack

"No, I have Cerys as well, she's only 18 months, she'll be coming over in a couple of weeks with my sister" I smiled while trying to separate Ffion and Jack. Who were both laughing while wrestling "Ffion, how about you and Jack go and unpack your toys, see if Hotch will take the box through for you" I smiled and nudged the box with my toes.

"I'll run down, grab some coffee and milk" Veronica said. I pulled a box towards me, that was full of photographs. I was looking through an album of my wedding day when Hotch sat next to me. He looked at the pictures while I flicked the pages

"Ffion and Cerys' father?" he asked, pointing to the groom

"Yeah. Geraint Willems. I never changed my surname, both the girls are Willems though. He died, 2 years ago. An IED hit their van in Iraq" I smiled, running a hand over his picture

"Army?" Hotch asked, taking the album off me

"Yeah, Lancashire regiment. He never met Cerys" I said, before pulling out the girls baby books and putting all three on the bookshelf. I was putting photos up when Veronica arrived with some essentials for making a good brew.

"You know, can you tell us where the closest supermarket is. We can have a brew then Ffion and I will let you get on with your Sunday, and we'll go shopping" I smiled, trying to include Veronica in my smile as well.

"There is one about 20 minutes walk away, or you could get a cab" Veronica said, smiling as Hotch went to get Jack

"Thanks, we'll probably get a taxi back" I wanted to appear polite, despite the fact I was still exhausted. When Ffion came into the room she jumped on my lap, laughing about her Ronnie and how it had eaten Jacks nose. After a quick brew and some more chat, Veronica and Hotch took Jack, while Ffion and I walked to the supermarket.

* * *

**Couple of hours and I'll post a longer chapter that has lots of Reid in it, for all you Reid fans.**


	3. The England Song

**Title: Being The New Girl**

**Author: BonesBird**

**Co-Author: **

**Summary: Bethan and her family move to America and meet the team. The second story in the "No Place To Be" series. **

**Disclaimer: Bethan is mine. Ffion, Cerys and Suzanne are mine. None of the others.**

**Lyrics: **

**Another little snippet of information. I've named Bethan after my cousins wife (I adore her name), Cerys is a name I've always loved. Suzanne is a friend of mine, and Ffion is her daughter. I love the names and I wanted them to be unusual. **

**Reid in this chapter comes courtesy of my co-writer Clare. I can't write Reid. We roleplay his parts. **

Ffion and I had to try and find the way to the supermarket. I regretted not getting better directions. I was used to being in complete control, and in Manchester I had known where every shop within a decent distance of the flat had been. Here, however, I'd been thrown into a basically foreign environment, with little chance of finding anything.

After we'd walked a few blocks, I was so happy to spot a policeman. I walked up to him, with Ffion in tow and smiled

"Hi, we're looking for a supermarket, do you happen to know if there is one nearby?"

"You mean like a Walmart? There is one just down this road" he said, smiling at Ffion and I as I thanked him, we carried on walking, but after half an hour Ffion started to complain

"Mum, my feet hurt" Ffion cried, sitting on the pavement and pulling at her shoes

"I'm sorry baby, we can't find this shop, can we?"

"Nope. Can we go home?" she asked, as I sat down on the pavement with her,

"We need to go to the shop." I told her, hoping she'd understand that

"But I want to go home, real home" she said, with a wail in her voice,

"You mean England?" I asked, realising where she was heading

"Yeah, I want to go and see my friends and play on the rabbit park" she said, I knew where she was talking about. It was the park where her dad had taken her all the time. When he was on deployment I'd take her, but she would always be unhappy. I had a sudden flash of inspiration about our current predicament, and I was sure that Ffion would cheer up when I got her in school the next day.

"I'm sorry baby, we're not going back to England. You start a new school tomorrow. Anyway, I'm going to ring another friend, and see if he can come and help us." I smiled, pulling my phone out of my pocket and dialling the number of the only other person I knew in the States. I had hassled Hotch enough, and I had no doubt I would over the next few days while I got settled. I prayed he'd pick up, and not be too busy. She smiled at Ffion as she waited for Reid to pick up the phone,

"Hello? This is Dr Reid" came her answer, she realised he hadn't recognised the number

"Hi, Reid. I don't know if you remember me, but it's Bethan Callahan, from Manchester"

"Oh, hi! Sorry, I wasn't expecting your call. How are you?"

"I'm good. I'm actually calling you for a favour?" I asked, hopefully

"Oh, OK. What can I do for you?" he said, and my heart jumped

"Well, I'm sort of lost, in Quantico, and I could use some help" I said, trying to be as vague as I could be with Ffion being sat next to me, playing with a slug she'd found, I knocked it out of her hand

"Oh wow. I didn't know you were in town. Um, do you know what street you're on?"

"Not a clue, I can see a pub across the road from me called 'Within Temptation'" I said, looking around for any sign of the street corner we were sat on

"OK, you're on Oak and Aubuchlon. You almost made it into DC!" I heard his laughter, which sparked of my own, causing Ffion to laugh too "I can give you directions, or just meet you there if you want?"

"If you could meet us here it would be great, I don't think Ffion could walk any further, we've walked from the Langham" I sniffed as Ffion snuggled her head against my arm.

"No problem, well, I don't usually drive, so, I'll catch the metro and meet you there, and I can show you walking directions, and when and where to get off the metro, if that would be helpful?"

"I'm terrible with directions" she laughed, "Come with us, then you can have tea with us. I need to get to know my new team mates better"

"That sound great, actually. I'll be there in about 15 minutes" I smiled and hung up the phone, sitting with Ffion and smiling. 15 Minutes later I jumped up when I saw Reid walking down the street waving at me. I picked Ffion up, knowing she wouldn't get up herself.

"Hi Bethan. How did you end up out here"

"I got bad directions, I think. I told you I'm terrible at following them" I laughed and smiled, lifting the shoulder where Ffion had nestled her head "This is Ffion"

"Hi, Ffion" Reid gave her an awkward smile, and I watched as Ffion returned it and waved

"She's tired, we walked all the way from the Langham, its like, 45 minutes"

"Wow, that's a long way. Where were you trying to go?"

"Wal-Mart, I think. A Supermarket, any supermarket. We only arrived last night" I smiled, hoisting Ffion higher on my hip. Smiling at her as she wrapped her arms around me,

"Well, Wal-Mart is way out in the suburbs. I never go there anyway. There are a couple of smaller grocery stores near here, a couple gourmet shops, and also a few import stores"

"I think I could use the import stores. I don't really want to completely change her diet, and I could do to have some British food in when the other one arrives"

"I'll take you to the British import store. It's small, but I'm sure having some reminders of home will help your transition. The DC Metro area is a really nice place to live, but even I get homesick, and I'm in the same country" I smiled as he laughed,

"I moved for university when I was home, I moved to another city 50 miles away, I was so homesick I ended up commuting for my last two years. I'm hoping that having my girls with me will make it easier." I smiled, hearing Ffion's breathing even out, showing she was asleep

"I'm sure it will. I try to go home and visit my mom when I can, but its about a thousand miles away. It would be easier if I had family nearby. Where is your other daughter?"

"I'm not close to my parents. My mum wasn't around much when I was a kid, my dad either. There were five of us though, so it was alright. I'm close to my nearest sister, she's got Cerys back in England until we're all settled" I said, gently tugging him back, his longer stride was getting too hard for me to keep up with.

"Sorry. Are you going back to England to get her?" he asked, I smiled at him

"Oh no, Sooz is moving out here as well. She's a novelist, so she doesn't need to be in England to do her job. Her publisher doesn't really care where she lives. She owns a little flat here"

"Oh that's great, I'm sure she'll be a big help with your girls" I smiled as he stopped outside a store window, I had a look through and spotted a box of Jaffa Cakes. "Here it is, I probably talked your ear off on the way here. I'll give you better directions later, so you can find your way here on your own" I smiled as he laughed again, which lead to me laughing as well

"Hmm, I see Jaffa Cakes, they are amazing. Have you ever tried them" I laughed again at the confused look on his face, "We can walk back to mine from here, surely. Could you hold Ffion for me" I said, passing her up to him, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and snuggled into him. He looked panicked, which gave me a reason to snicker. He looked good with her

"Umm, sure" I smiled as he tried to get her comfortable, and when he did he looked back at me "Ladies first" I opened the door and let him in with Ffion, then started looking around. I was putting a couple of boxes of Jaffa Cakes in my basket as the shopkeeper came up to us

"Hullo, Do you folks know what you're looking for? Can I tempt to teach you with anything" I smiled, the shopkeeper hadn't found out I was English yet

"I think I'm alright thanks. Do you have any Yorkshire pudding mix, ohh and some chip shop curry"

"I bet I can place that accent, you're Northern. North, west. Only just though. Manchester area" I smiled, nodding. "I was brought up in Littleborough. But I've been living in the city centre"

"My wife is a Mancunian. Her accent isn't as strong as yours though. I'll let you carry on" I laughed and threw a number of other things in my basket, before going to the checkout. As we walked out I stopped Reid and looked at him

"Hey, Reid. You're pretty cute carrying a sleeping five-year-old" I smiled as he blushed

"Honestly, I don't have much experience with kids. I've only held my godson a handful of times" he gave a nervous laugh. I stepped closer to them and rubbed Ffion's back, before putting my hand on his arm, hoping to reassure him a little

"She likes you. She won't even stay asleep this long if my dad holds her." I shifted the bags a little "Now you have a choice, you can keep the five-year-old, or you can take the shopping" I had to smirk as he though, though it was clear he wouldn't be putting Ffion down for a while

"I'll keep Ffion" he said, cracking a smile as he said it "Give you a rest. Is there anywhere else you'd like to go before we head back to your place? We can take the metro so you don't have to walk so far"

"It's fantastic, I'm sure there'll be a little corner shop type thing nearby to get some milk, lead the way, Dr. Reid" I joked, pushing him gently ahead.

**This was so much longer. So I've split it into two chapters!**


	4. Shopping

**Title: Being The New Girl  
****Author: BonesBird  
****Co-Author:  
****Summary: Bethan and her family move to America and meet the team. The second story in the "No Place To Be" series.  
****Disclaimer: Bethan is mine. Ffion, Cerys and Suzanne are mine. None of the others.**

******************

* * *

"The metro station is just ahead" I saw him running out of things to question me on**

"Great. So. Since I join the BAU on Tuesday, what's it like to work there?" I said, with a great deal of interest. I wanted to get an opinion of working on the team that was widely regarded as the worlds best profilers. I still wasn't sure how I qualified

"Um…" He walked on, deep in thought, before turning to me "Honestly, it can be stressful at times. Well, most of the time. It's worth it though, when we save a life, and get dangerous people off the streets. I don't mean to brag, but this team is made up of some of the most intelligent and dedicated agents in the Bureau. It can be intimidating at first, but we're really like a family." I nodded, and thought a couple of minutes on what he said, before I spoke what I thought.

"I really don't get how I'm qualified to join you all. Being honest. I mean, I have some background in Behaviour studies, and I did my degree in Criminal Psychology. But I'm not a profiler. I'm a policeman. I'm used to arresting people and doing legwork, not getting in their minds." I shook my head, he smiled and looked down at me as Ffion shifted, showing her first signs of waking up soon

"You'll get used to it. Hotch wouldn't have recruited you to the team if he didn't think you had the potential to be a great profiler." I smiled at that, deciding to list what Hotch had done to get me here

"He not only recruited me to the team, he recruited me to the whole FBI, and arranged for all my visa's and work permits. Not to mention the flat, and a school place for Ffion. He was determined to get me here" I smiled as he nodded at me as we arrived at the metro station

"That's saying a lot. He must really think you'll be an asset to the team. The last four people to join the team weren't even recruited by Hotch."

"They weren't? Who were they recruited by then?" I asked, wondering why Hotch would have people he didn't recruit on his team. I assumed he had courted most of them like he had me.

"Rossi was a retired unit chief, who came back to fill an opening after the previous chief left. Hotch stepped up as chief, but Rossi joined the team to help. Prentiss was assigned by our section chief, Erin Strauss. You'll meet Strauss. She's...well, she's just Strauss. Veronica and Carrie were also recruited by Strauss. Prentiss also replaced a former team member. Veronica was recruited for her expertise in family counselling and grief. Carrie is an MD and forensics expert. Strauss thought she could lend some legitimacy to our reports and court cases, since a lot of lawyers don't take profiling seriously as a science." I was surprised by the level of detail he gave me, but then I remembered Hotch's words from when we first met, and I allowed him the benefit of the doubt before I continued

"So, I'm the first person Hotch has officially recruited... Himself... I feel special all of a sudden" I laughed as we arrived at the metro station, and I gently pointed to Ffion "I hope she sleeps until we get home. I want to know about my fellow team members." I laughed, smiling at him as we waited for the metro to get in,

"What do you want to know" he called over the noise of the train arriving, I took Ffion off him and handed him my shopping as we sat down

"I tell you what, you can tell me over tea, I mean the meal, not the drink. I've got to get used to calling it dinner. You know, we have the metro in Manchester too, only it's mostly called the trams" I said, thinking he would find the commonality interesting.

"It's really convenient around here. DC traffic is terrible. Between tourists and commuters...it's just so much faster to take the Metro. You only really find trains like this in big cities though, particularly on the east coast." I smiled, glad that we could have a normal conversation, when we'd first met he hadn't been comfortable, but he'd been on my turf, here, in his home, he was comfortable.

"Yeah, I understand that. Most cities in England have a tram network now. They are really needed. Most of Manchester is pedestrianised too, so the Trams go where cars can't. It's fast too" I said, noticing the stop that was only around the corner from my building. I felt Ffion mumble a little as she slowly woke up, I hugged her tightly

"I wish Hotch and I had been able to spend more time in England. Maybe we can all go back sometime and you can show us around." he laughed, I chuckled but kept it quiet,

"Hey, we get two weeks off a year. I want Ffion and Cerys to know about their mother country. Cerys, at least, is going to be mostly American. Ffion probably will be too before long. Don't count it out" I laughed loudly and stood up as I lifted Ffion onto my hip again "I recognise the next stop."

"Well, I'm sure you'll learn plenty about your new country. We take cases all over. We've even worked on cases in Canada and Mexico. I'm sure you'll never get bored, at least." he laughed as he picked up the shopping and we got off the train, Ffion slowly starting to wake up properly.

"Boredom is not a problem when you have kids. But having variety in the job will be good too. I was getting bored in Manchester." We walked to my building in a companionable silence, when we reached the doors I felt the need to warn him "I haven't unpacked properly yet, its a mess" he laughed before he replied, standing behind me in the doorway

"I'm sure it's fine. If you want to see a real mess, wait until you see the crime lab. Carrie is like a tornado, it's all I can do to keep up with her, let alone clean up after her. We call her the Tennessee Tornado. You'll like her." I smiled as he blushed, I realised he must either really like this Carrie, or he was already involved with her.

"I can't wait to meet her, it should be Tuesday, possibly Wednesday. I was supposed to do it tomorrow but getting Ffion into school and things cam higher on my priority list." I opened the door and let us all in, putting Ffion down she ran to the couch where Ronnie was, and started telling him about the adventure she'd had that day, no doubt filling in the time she'd been asleep

"Of course. It would be great if they could get her in class with Jack, that way she wouldn't feel alone." I smiled, realising he was thinking much the same as I'd been

"She's going to skipped ahead a year, so into Jack's class, because she already did a full year of schooling in England. I'm not sure how I feel about her being with older kids, but she's big for her age, and she already knows Jack" I smiled, watching her, and caught his eye, he was smiling too

"I'm sure she'll do fine. I went to high school when I was nine, and I turned out ok." we both laughed, and I turned into the kitchen and started to put the shopping away

"You certainly did, Dr. Reid. I don't want her skipping too much. I know we've just been shopping, but, I don't really want to cook. How would you like a pizza?" I smiled, realising Veronica and Hotch had left me some milk, so I wouldn't have to go to the shop again tonight.

"That would be great, but if we're ordering out, I'm buying." he laughed, and I started to object before he cut me off. "Consider it your "Welcome to America" gift."

"That is very sweet of you. OK. Whatever woman gets you is a lucky one, agent Reid" I told him, smiling as I said it. I laughed as Ffion came across the room, and listened to Reid's blushing response with me

"I don't really have any luck with women. And I don't know what I would do if I had one. I stay pretty busy…" I laughed

"Spencer, am I alright to call you that? Anyway. I was a police officer. Their dad was in the Army. We were married for 4 years when he died. Doesn't matter hoe busy you are if you love someone." I said, smiling as I picked Ffion up onto the counter we were stood at,

"Well, I guess we'll see then. I'm almost thirty and I've never really had a girlfriend. I think I'm just destined to be a bachelor for life." I smiled as he laughed, but Ffion had made up her mind to join in

"Girls are fun" she said, after poking his arm to get attention, he thought before turning to answer her

"Yeah, girls are a lot of fun. But they don't usually think I'm any fun." I laughed at his response, but Ffion had clearly not found it funny

"I think you're fun"

"Ffion, you've been asleep all day" I smiled as Reid looked at her,

"Well Ffion, I'm very flattered, but I'm afraid you're a little too young for me." I smiled as Ffion giggled at him. Ffion was about to speak again as Reid's phone went off, "Oh, excuse me." he said, I took her off the counter and settled her on the floor, as he turned back to me with a grin on his face

"Fee, go play sweetie" I laughed, and I was ready to watch him blush "Somebody liked a text he just got" I said, watching as his faced flushed

"It was just...work stuff. You know." he murmured, putting his phone back in his pocket "Anyway, I'd better order some pizza. What toppings do you like?" I smiled

"Get a cheese and tomato one for Fee, and I'll share whatever you're having, as long as there are onions on it" I called as he turned away to make the call

"How about half with onions, and half without?" he replied, with a grin on his face "Hawaiian is good: ham, pineapple, and red onions. Trust me, it tastes a lot better than it sounds" I laughed and felt the need to reply with something cheeky

"Hey, hey. I'm not from some backwater country. I know what a Hawaiian pizza is" I joked, climbing onto the stool I'd been leaning against.

"Sorry. When I tried to get JJ to eat it, she looked at me like I was crazy." he replied, with a disarming grin. I could tell that I was going to get on with him,

"Ring the pizza, then you need to give me the lowdown on the team, so I have some clue who they all are when I go there on Tuesday" I said, grinning as he ordered the pizza. As soon as he was of the phone Ffion came up and tugged on Reid sleeve

"Spencer, what would happen if a hamster had a baby with a giraffe?" I watched as Reid thought for a moment, I thought he'd give her an answer saying that it was impossible,

"Well...I guess it would look like a really big hamster, with long legs and a long neck." he whispered to her, leaving her to run off back to whatever argument she'd been having with her teddies.

"Good answer, I never know what to say when she asks things like that, I don't know why you say you aren't good with kids" I smiled as he looked up at me, slightly confused still by his answer

"Well, my first instinct was to explain to her how genetically impossible it would be for a hamster to mate with a giraffe, but I think she was more satisfied with the long-legged hamster baby." he laughed, and I let out a chuckle, hearing it explained that way reminded me of how wonderful children were in their ways of thinking. "I guess I'm learning." He finished his thought, I nodded

"For sure. Anyway. The team. Tell me about them, no details, I don't need to know them yet, just the urgent things I gotta know?" I asked, with a big grin on my face

"Well, you already know Hotch and me, have you met Veronica?"

"Yeah, I met her this morning, nice lady" I said, keeping my opinion to myself until I knew her better

"Yeah, she's really friendly. I think I already told you, but she was a family psychologist. She's the expert in child abductions and cases with families. Morgan is our expert on crimes of obsession. JJ is the press liason, and she's also the one who prioritizes cases for us. Rossi was one of the original members of the BAU...he developed most of the methods we use when we develop a profile. I don't know if you know, but Hotch was an attorney before he joined…" I nodded, making mental notes of all the names. "Prentiss is originally a linguist, but also an expert on teenage pathologies. Garcia is our technical analyst and there's basically nothing she can't do with a computer and an internet connection. Carrie is our newest member, but she's already worked a case with us. Like I said, she's a medical doctor and forensics expert. She handles physical evidence and oversees m.e.'s and things like that. She's grounded to the lab for now...our last case was really hard on her and she just got out of the hospital." I nodded as he looked away, he had it bad for this Carrie.

"Sounds like a pretty… intense group. I'm really looking forward to Tuesday now" I replied, as a knock on the door signalled the pizza. As we at, we sat with Ffion and laughed. Shortly afterwards I let Spencer out. Glad to have a friend in the States.

* * *

**OK. You're getting this so I can find out if my emails are working again because hotmail seems to have BLOCKED fanfiction... lets see if this works.**


	5. The First Day Of School

**Title: Being The New Girl  
****Author: BonesBird  
****Co-Author:  
****Summary: Bethan and her family move to America and meet the team. The second story in the "No Place To Be" series.  
****Disclaimer: Bethan is mine. Ffion, Cerys and Suzanne are mine. None of the others.**

**The interaction between Hotch and Bethan is important for later stories… You'll see why when you get to them. Its not just random drama, honest.**

**

* * *

**Monday morning dawned and I found Ffion in my bed again. I hit the alarm and gently woke her up, before I jumped in the shower.

"Mummy, if I'm going to school, where is my uniform" she came into the bathroom and asked as I got out of the shower "Mummy, mummy, mummy"

"Well, its not like your old school, here you can wear normal clothes." I said, walking back into my room and pulling some clothes on "When you get home tonight, we're going to unpack the clothes boxes into our rooms. Mine, yours and Cerys'"

"Mummy, is Cery staying in England with aunty Sooz?" Ffion asked as I pulled a denim skirt on her and pulled a hairbrush towards her

"No, why would you think that?"

"Because we're here, and Cery isn't. Does that mean I'm your favourite?"

"I don't have a favourite, Fee." I said, pulling her hair into a ponytail before a knock came on the door. I grabbed my bag and smiled as Hotch and Jack stood in the doorway "Hi, are you sure you're alright to take us?" I asked, smiling as I followed him

"Veronica had to pick up a couple of our team mates, they broke their car and the other one is uninsured. You just want dropping with them at school?"

"Yeah, I need to go in and talk to the head, then I'm going unlocking my sisters flat. Then I've an afternoon of unpacking. Are you sure Jack's aunt won't mind dropping Ffion off too?"

"Nope, I spoke to Jack, he'll make sure she's alright, she's going into his class anyway" Hotch said, smiling back to the kids. "I spoke to the school on Friday, they've confirmed it."

"I'm glad. Thanks Hotch. You've done so much to make sure I'd join. I'm still not sure why?"

"Bethan, that case in England, you already knew who the guy was likely to be. You had profiled the victims. That's really all you need to do. You'll pick it up soon. I promise you." I smiled as he caught my eye. I felt the tension between us as we held the eye contact slightly longer than was necessary. I ran through my standard mantra whenever I was around him, and I knew that he was a married man.

"Thanks" I whispered as he started the car, still holding eye contact with me, I jumped as the car started and looked out the window, feeling silly for having a school-girl crush on my new boss. I stayed silent on the drive to school, trying to collect my thoughts. I jumped again when Hotch touched my arm, after Ffion had jumped out of the car with Jack.

"Beth, don't be nervous about it. Filling all this in for Ffion, or joining the team" his hand lingered on my arm for a second longer, before I picked up my bag

"Thanks. Hotch. Thanks for the lift too. If you're around tonight I'd love to cook you all tea. I'm going to make roasted vegetables, goats cheese and mash for the adults, while I'm making vegetarian chicken nugget things and chips for Ffion, and Jack, if you want?"

"That sounds nice. Ffion can stay with us and play with Jack until you're ready?"

"That would be amazing, I can get all the unpacking done then." I slid out of the car and gave him a wave, as I walked to the front entrance of the school I called out to Ffion, "Come on Fee, you'll see Jack soon" I waved at Jack

"See ya Beth!" He shouted to me as Ffion took my hand

"Mummy, its strange here. Everybody talks funny. I thought it was just your friends. But Jack's friends all talk funny too" she said sitting on a seat next to me

"Honeybunch, to them, we talk funny. It's because we're from England. So we have a different accent"

"No. I think its them who talk funny"

"Ms Callahan?" Asked a kindly looking lady who came out of an office "please come in". I smiled and led Ffion into the office. I smiled as I took the seat, Ffion climbing onto my knee "You're here to fill in the paperwork to have…" the woman trailed off, looking at Ffion's name

"Ffion, it's said Fee-on" I smiled, sounding out her name, "so, you got all her files from England?"

"Yes, and I can say that she's ready for the last few weeks of first grade."

"I'm glad, she's so excited, I didn't want her starting from scratch again. Even if she is going to be with kids a year older than her"

"She's a big girl for her age, and I notice that Aaron Hotchner is the person who arranged most of this, so she'll know his son I'm assuming?"

"Yes, we live in the same building, he's my boss too" I smiled as Ffion jumped down to do some colouring on the table

"OK. She's all registered and ready with this, and I'm assuming you want to register her for next year too" she smiled at me, I nodded and signed all the paperwork. "If you want to say goodbye to her here, I'll take her to her classroom. Its easier if parents don't come"

"OK. Ffion. Be good today, I'll see you tonight. Remember, you're going home with Jack"

"OK mum!" She replied, happily following the teacher while I walked to the other exit.

Walking back from the school to my flat I thought about my interactions with the members of the team I'd met so far. Veronica had been cordial, yet reserved. I could understand why. I knew the tension between myself and Hotch wasn't just in my head, after Ffion had asked if I was going to kiss him before she fell asleep. Hotch was attractive, for sure. But he was a married man. I'm not stupid enough to even touch it with a barge pole. Reid was like a younger brother, even though technically he was too years older than me, in worldly experience he was a lot younger, and Hotch was... Hotch was a man I was more interested in than I should have been.

* * *

I pulled the box of family photos towards me and started placing pictures around. After I fixed the pictures up I emptied my boxes of books. They filled both the end tables, and the bookcase. I loved to read, and regardless of the type I love, they all get the same treatment. Most of my books were dog-eared and water-stained from reading.

Next was to unpack the girls things, I made up both Ffion and Cerys' rooms, before opening the window in Cerys' room to air it a little. After I was finally unpacked I got to cooking, Hotch had text me, saying that Veronica had loved the idea of me cooking for them all. I had just put it in the oven when a knock on the door sounded. I was greeted by Ffion brandishing a plastic sword

"Ahhh matey!" She shouted, running into the back of the flat. Jack ran after her, laughing, I smiled as Hotch and Veronica came in

"Ffion seems at home? She's sure something" Veronica asked as she glanced towards the back of the apartment, I laughed and nodded, looking in the same direction she was.

"Yeah, she… erm… She's something. That's for sure" I snorted, looking to where Hotch was looking over my books. "See anything you like there Hotch?"

"You have a lot of the same books I do" he said, smiling and coming to join us at the kitchen counter.

"I like to read" I smiled, when I heard a shout from the back of the flat

"MUM, WHY IS THERE A BIRD INSIDE!" I heard Ffion's voice, Hotch and I both raced to the sound of commotion, to see Jack and Ffion chasing a pigeon around the room, I started laughing as Hotch tried to chase the bird out of the window, only succeeding in chasing it to the door and further into the apartment. I heard Veronica scream, and ran into the Kitchen, the kids and Hotch following me along.

"What is that!" She shouted, pointing at the pigeon,

"It's a pigeon" I said, feeling as sheepish as the kids. I saw the look on Hotch's face. He was enjoying Veronica's ire at having the pigeon in the house as much as I was. The four of us lined up in front of her

"Get it away from me" she said, backing into a corner of the kitchen

"Dad, are you gonna shoot it?" Jack shouted, jumping up and down

"Yeah, Aaron, are you gonna shoot it?" Ffion screeched along with Jack. I shook my head as he managed to catch it in his hands, I followed him as he got it back out of the window. "Mum, I wanted it as a pet. I called it Florence" Ffion said, bouncing back to the kitchen.

"I don't think we need a pet, thanks, Ffion" I said, laughing and swapping knowing looks with Hotch. The adventure was only just beginning.

* * *

**Only one chapter today, because I uploaded 3 yesterday. Emails are working again now. **

**"The Internet Is Forever" is tonight's episode. I need to go for a nap before it as I have a "Secret Mission" to go on tonight.**


	6. Shoot

**Title: Being The New Girl  
****Author: BonesBird  
****Co-Author: clare . bones  
****Summary: Bethan and her family move to America and meet the team. The second story in the "No Place To Be" series.  
****Disclaimer: Bethan is mine. Ffion, Cerys and Suzanne are mine. None of the others.**

* * *

"Can you look straight ahead please" the technician asked. The morning had passed calmly, getting a lift to work with Hotch, Veronica and the kids hadn't been as stressful as I'd thought it would be. Hotch had taken me to the main entrance to get my ID badges made, which is where I was now, having my picture taken for my credentials and my file. "Excellent. You can collect it at the end of the day." he said, handing me a visitors card for the day. I stepped out to where Hotch was waiting for me,

"Where to now?" I asked, jokingly nudging his arm

"Now you have the meeting with the section chief. She's a bit of a stickler for regulation"

"Hotch, I'm British police. I can stand at attention and give yes/no answers when I need to" I reminded him, smiling as he led me through the throng of workers who clearly knew where they were going. I walked into an office after Hotch, and saw two people sat in the room. An older woman with, obviously bleached, blonde hair, and an older man, with dark eyes and facial hair

"This is Agent Rossi and Chief Strauss" Hotch said, I nodded to them both

"Sir, Ma'am" I said, standing to attention, as I'd always had to the Chief's office

"Relax, agent Callahan, take a seat" the Chief asked, I took the seat she offered and looked straight ahead. I wasn't sure what to do in this type of formal situation "agent Hotchner was determined to get you on his team, why do you think that was?"

"I don't know ma'am" I replied, looking at her briefly

"You must have some idea?" She prodded, I turned my head to her, and caught her eye

"I. Don't. Know. Ma'am" I said. Leaving a space between every word, so she would understand that I wasn't playing coy. I genuinely had no idea why Hotch had pushed so hard to have me assigned

"Erin. Leave her alone. Bethan, I think it is?" Rossi said, I turned to him "Are you ready to work on this unit?" he asked, catching my eyes

"I don't know, sir."

"You have a background in Criminology, Criminal law, psychology. I think you'll be a good fit for this team. Agent. I needed to meet you before I could confirm your application." I turned and glared at her. I couldn't believe the cheek of the woman, I knew I'd been assigned. After a few more tense minutes I was allowed to leave. I stood outside for a few moments, while Hotch remained in the office. When he came out he stood against the wall with me for a moment

"That went better than I expected" he muttered, gracing me with a grin before standing straight

"She's a piece of work" I replied, "I suppose I'm meeting the team?"

"Not today. They're doing lectures at the Academy right now, I want to get you shooting before you have to take a firearms test, which should be next week"

"I've never had a gun before?" I asked, nervously. Following him through the maze.

* * *

"The secret, is to never close your eyes" Hotch said, as soon as I had the goggles over my eyes. "Shoot how you think you should shoot first off" he said, standing just behind me. I squared of and shot, hitting the white beside the target

"That was terrible" I laughed, snapping off the protective ear-wear I had on

"I've seen worse first shots. Drop your shoulders" he placed his hands on my shoulders, causing me to shiver for a second before I regained control "There, take a shot now" he said, putting his ear-wear on then placing his hands back on my shoulders. My second shot was better, I hit the poor man in the nuts

"I am never going to get the hang of this" I moaned, after a few more attempts. Hotch took a place directly behind me, he pulled my body against his

"Try standing in this position, and letting off the shot" he whispered, hardly moving away. I took the shot, and hit where I was aiming for.

"Oh my, I did it" I said, throwing my arms up, "I actually hit where I was meant to!" I exclaimed, the tension of a minute before still there as I took my place again. I felt his hand on my side as he made sure my stance was good.

"This is, intense" I whispered as I took another shot, hitting a different area of the target. I laughed, and for the next 2 hours Hotch coached me through, the tension building every time he had to adjust my stance, or he had to show me an easier way to stand

The tension didn't dissipate as we leant against the edge of the booth, where he stood with one arm leaning next to me "You got the hang pretty quickly" he told me, I just shook my head

"I was terrible, I know I was terrible."

"You weren't" He whispered, taking my eye contact and holding it. We were stood too close together, and surrounded by guns. I ducked out from under his arm.

"We should really go. I mean, I know we've been down here for a while"

"I'll take you home, we'll pick up Jack and Ffion on the way, I'll ring Jessica and say we don't need her too" I smiled and grabbed my stuff.

As we left I picked up my new ID badge, and my FBI credentials.

Field Agent Bethan Callahan.

I felt like a new me.


	7. The Lab and The Doctor

**Title: Being The New Girl  
****Author: BonesBird  
****Co-Author: clare bones  
****Summary: Bethan and her family move to America and meet the team. The second story in the "No Place To Be" series.  
****Disclaimer: Bethan is mine. Ffion, Cerys and Suzanne are mine. None of the others.**

**

* * *

**I sat in the back of Hotch's car again on Wednesday morning as we dropped the kids off at school. I was smiling as Ffion reached round and gave me a hug

"Have a good first day at work mummy." she whispered in my ear, before jumping out of the car after Jack. I smiled as she turned back to me. The car journey was awkward, Hotch and I both trying to act normal around Veronica, who was talking about the night she had planned with Garcia, planning Garcia's wedding.

"Beth, we need to get you a car" Veronica exclaimed as we arrived at the car park at Quantico. She nodded to people passing as we got out of the car

"I'm not really a big driver, unless I'm on duty. I prefer public transport and walking. Wears Ffion out faster." I replied, smiling as we all scanned through

"You ready to meet the rest of the team?" Hotch asked, as we stood in the lift. I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. I was feeling slightly ill. Nervous. As we walked into the bullpen I noticed how much cleaner it was than our old squad room in Manchester.

"BAU Team, Round Table room, 5 minutes" Hotch called, Veronica sauntered off to put things in her desk, while Hotch guided me to the room

"I feel like a lost puppy, Hotch, following you around" I said, laughing as we walked into the room

"I'll let you out on your own after I've introduced you to the team. You know a few of them, obviously. The rest I'll introduce you too, then you can go and explore, after JJ has set you up a desk."

"Thanks Hotch" I said, sitting awkwardly in a chair until people started filing in. Reid took the seat next to me after we shared a handshake. I smiled at everyone as they sat down. Hotch stood at the front of the room before looking around

"Where's Carrie?" he asked, the open question was answered by Reid

"I think she's in the lab"

"She can wait. I've called everyone here to tell them, yes, we're still grounded, and to introduce our new member. Bethan Callahan. You've already met Reid, Vee and Rossi. We have Emily Prentiss, she's an expert in languages, Derek Morgan is our expert in obsessional behaviours. Penelope Garcia is our technical wonder, and Jennifer Jareau, JJ, is our team liaison" I smiled and nodded at each member as he introduced them. I stood talking with Morgan for a few minutes as the informal meeting broke up.

"Bethan, let's set you up a desk" interrupted JJ, I smiled at Morgan

"We'll finish this later," I replied, and then looked to JJ "Ok, ms Jareau, lead the way"

"You can just call me JJ, we'll set you up opposite Reid, seeing as you already know him quite well, and it's empty." She handed me a piece of paper and a key "That's your desk key, and your computer name and password, you can change the password as soon as you log in." I smiled as she walked off "If you need anything your phone will have my number, or look it up on the contact list." I watched her walk up to Hotch's office.

* * *

20 minutes later I decided to try and find the break room. OK. Adventuring wasn't a great idea, knowing absolutely nowhere. So after 10 minutes of walking I decided to jump in the next open door and ask for directions. I tried a few doors before I came to one that was open. I walked up to almost behind the young woman who was in the room, clearly focused on something in her microscope

"Excuse me" I said, not wanting to appear rude.

"Oh, sorry. Can I help you?" she said, looking up from her microscope and catching my eye

"I think I'm lost. I couldn't even tell you where I am" I admitted, looking to the floor

"You're in the crime lab" she laughed, smiling at me and putting me at ease, "are you new here?"

"Yeah, it's my first full day. I was looking for the BAU break room" I replied,

"You're in the BAU?" She asked, giving me her full attention for the first time.

"Yes, Bethan Callahan" I answered, giving her a genuine smile,

"I'm Dr. Carrie Scarlet. You can just call me Carrie" she took off her gloves and shook my hand, gracing me with a smile, "I'll show you to the break room. I could use a break too, daggum section chief banished me down here." She rolled her eyes, causing me to snort

"I met her yesterday. She reminded me of my old chief constable… Only I think if it were a straight up fight the old fire dragon over here would probably win" I joked, causing Carrie to laugh, and my laugh to mingle with hers. I fell into step beside her as we left the crime lab "How long have you been here?"

"Almost a month, though, I spent two weeks in the hospital and at home recovering. I was here a week and just got back yesterday." I smiled as she looked at me, obviously expecting my tale

"I've only been in the country four days, I still think I'm a little jetlagged. By this time of day I just want to go to sleep" I laughed, trying to remember the route from where we'd been done

"Well I can't blame you. I've never been out of the country but I went to California once, which was only a two hour difference from home. that messed me up enough as it was." She smiled,

"I'm five hours behind home, I think I get more annoyed because the five year old adjusted quicker than I did" I said, forgetting that this woman barely knew me

"Kids are real...oh what word am I looking for. Braniac would know. Anyways, they adjust faster. I guess they're not as set in their ways." Carrie laughed, it was contagious, I found myself laughing along with her, while sharing more about Ffion

"They are. She's already making friends in school. I couldn't believe it. Last night was a disaster though, she was determined we should keep a pigeon as a pet." I shook my head, all the while laughing more at the image of Hotch carrying that poor pigeon out of my place.

"Bless your heart, she sounds like a pistol! if you ever meet my momma you should ask her about the time I performed a necropsy on our cat on the kitchen table. the cat was run over by a tractor, but I suspected foul play. I was six." I laughed at the image of the woman next to me performing a necropsy on a cat.

"Ohh don't even get me started on what the kids do. Ffion is... well... she's something else. Mention blood and she is fascinated. I think she's found her soulmate in Jack." I shook my head, then thought back to what I was like when I was her age. "I used to give worms baths when I was her age, so I suppose it runs in the family" I had to laugh at the odd look that crossed Carrie's face

"Sounds like it. well, here's the break room. there's usually coffee made. the rest of the team is addicted, but i keep a stash of Cokes in the fridge if you ever want one." she smiled, whispering conspiratorially

"Oh coke sounds wonderful. Coffee here is just a little rich for my tastes. Tell me more about yourself, Carrie. I haven't had much chance to meet people. I've spent most of my time since arriving with Hotch. I spent a good chunk of Sunday with Reid." I smiled as her face changed as I mentioned Reid

"Oh, Reid... I bet he was glad to get out after spending all week taking care of my cranky ass after I got out of the hospital." she shook her head and snorted, before carrying on "well, I'm the doctor lady. I'm not extra special like ol' braniac. just a regular MD. I'm from Tennessee, which is why I have a much cooler accent than the rest of the team." she let out a loud laugh, which I had to return, before listening to the end of her description "I worked at Vanderbilt university before I came here. what about you?"

"I'm a Mancunian, born and bred in Manchester. I was cop, I've been a cop for a decade. Hotch and Reid were assigned to a case of mine a month or so ago. I had to serve a six week notice period in England after Hotch recruited me. I've two kids. Ffion is over here, she's five, and Cerys has just gone 18 months. She's still in England, my sister is bringing her next week" I said, glad I could talk at my usual speed, as Carrie seemed to understand the accent

"How exciting! I'm really impressed that Hotch recruited you. Evidently that's a big deal. I don't even know who recruited me. I'd assisted on some cases for the Nashville field office, then next thing I know I get a call from ol' Strauss telling me to pack up and come here. I was under the impression she recruited me, but she doesn't seem to like me much. Especially since...well, I won't talk your ear off about my personal crap." she blushed, since my ongoing internal struggle about Hotch was all I had been thinking about when I'd been laid in bed at night, I shared her pain

"Hey, my personal life is going down the crapper already, and I've been here all of four, maybe five days." I smirked at her then carried on "Reid told me I'm the first person Hotch has recruited, so I think it's a big deal. I don't know why. They clearly don't need another hot headed cop out there. There is enough testosterone alone coming from Morgan"

"Ain't that the truth sister. Well, if you want to know the truth, I kinda got myself into a little, um...situation. Strauss basically ripped me a new one yesterday morning and that's why I'm currently banished to the lab. She says it's because I'm not medically cleared to fly, but the team is grounded anyway for the time being, so I know it's a bunch of crap."

"Yeah, I'm in a situation myself, and I don't know how to deal with it. You know. Politics of a new country. How about you come over tonight and we can discuss... the situations... with wine, popcorn and a comedy show? Do you like comedy? Since we're gonna be on the same team."

"Gossip and wine sounds fantastic. I think we're going to get along just fine hun." she chuckled as she knocked back a swig of her coke, I laughed and picked up the unopened can in front of me

"I'm sure we shall. I've been gone for nearly an hour, I'm sure that means my break is up. I'll give you my mobile number and you can send me a text when you're finished, if I'm not here, it means Hotch has already taken me home." I smiled, and the slight crimping of her eyes made me think she guessed my problem,

"I'm thinking about sneaking out of here a little early so I can go to the tanning bed and get my nails done." she laughed and smiled as I walked towards the door. "Not that anyone will notice anyway. I'll text you around 6. Sound good?"

"That sounds fantastic. I'll see you tonight." I walked out and saw the door to the bullpen only a minute away. I had really gone the wrong way. I walked back to my desk and carried on with my day.

* * *

**Two more chapters tomorrow. Whizzing through so that Clare can start posting hers again!**


	8. Girls Night

**Title: Being The New Girl  
****Author: BonesBird  
****Co-Author: Clare bones  
****Summary: Bethan and her family move to America and meet the team. The second story in the "No Place To Be" series.  
****Disclaimer: Bethan is mine. Ffion, Cerys and Suzanne are mine. None of the others. - I also don't own Outnumbered. The BBC does. Though Ffion is half based on Karen in it.**

**Can I remind people that if you don't understand the British term for something… ask in the review and either I'll answer or I'll get Clare to answer (she has to change some of the teams lines because I do them too British-y)**

**

* * *

**

I was ready for a night with a new friend. Ffion wasn't talking to me after I'd taken a bag of tadpoles off her. I was used to her strange habit of bringing animals into the house. Back in England I'd once found a kitten in her room, she'd had it for two days, it lived with us for a week before it's owner had come and claimed it. Ffion had wanted a pet since she was old enough to talk, but with my career I didn't think it was appropriate. After she'd eaten she'd gone to her room. I hadn't heard hide nor hair of her since. I was expecting Carrie any minute, so I had a bottle of wine on the side and my DVD in the player. I was opening the wine when there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see Carrie carrying two bottles of wine

"Hi, come on in" I said, smiling as she handed me the wine

"Thanks for inviting me over" she smiled "I didn't know if you liked red or white, so I brought one of each" she laughed, and I joined in, stepping aside to let her in

"Ohh, now we have 3 bottles for tonight. That could be handy. We have an angry 5 year old in the flat. I have no idea what she's doing" I said nonchalantly. I knew she couldn't hurt herself in her bedroom,

"What's she all bent out of shape over?" Carrie grinned, reaching and pulling some food out of her shopping bag, and a tub of ice-cream "Maybe this will cheer her up?"

"I confiscated a bag of tadpoles off her earlier, she'd love the pudding, especially the ice cream" I smiled, "Ffion, get in here" I shouted

"Who's that mummy" Ffion asked, running in and hiding behind my legs

"Why hello, Ffion, it's nice to meet you. I'm Carrie." she knelt down to Ffion's level

"Hello Carrie. You talk funny" Ffion said, I burst out laughing, swapping a apologetic look with Carrie

"I hear that a lot." She laughed, I picked up a phone and dialled a number for a pizza

"I like it. What's that?" Ffion asked, pointing to the food Carrie had put on the counter

"Fee, don't be rude" I told her, Carrie laughed however

"This is peach cobbler, sweet pea. Don't you have it in England?" she replied with a wink, Ffion looked between the two of us with a confused look on her face

"Not really. But I like peaches. Mummy can I have my tadpoles back" She said, looking at me

"No. Fee. You're not having the Tadpoles. Would you like to try some of Carrie's cobbler"

"Yes please" She said, accepting a bowl and playing with the spoon

"Your momma tells me you love animals." I smiled as Carrie leant towards her and dropped her voice, making me laugh. "I can't blame you, so do I!" she said, causing Ffion to laugh

"I want a pet, but mum won't let me have one. We had a Pigeon in last night that I wanted to keep with Jack. But mum and Aaron chased it out. Animals are cool" I smiled as I finally got through to an operator and placed our order

"Well one of these days soon I'll have y'all out to my house in the country, and we can go to the creek and see what kind of critters we can find." Carrie said, I stood watching her interact with Ffion, loving that my little girl was so friendly

"That would be cool. I used to like going to my grandma's. She lived on a farm and she had a goat called Harvey. She let me help bury him when he died, but she wouldn't let me cut him up to see how he died" I laughed silently in the background, remembering the evil goat that had died

"Well, you need practice before you can see how he died. You have to know all the body parts and organs. I'll see if I can find you a book to read about animals. You're such a smart girl, I'm sure you'll understand it." I smiled and started moving back towards them

"That would be cool." Ffion exclaimed with a five year olds exuberance

"Hey kid, take that to your room. You need to write that letter back to your old school" I ruffled her hair as I stood behind her and she smiled at Carrie

"We'll have plenty of time to talk another day, Ffion. I promise. *to Bethan* She's a firecracker. Reminds me of myself when I was a kid!" Ffion had run back to her room, leaving Carrie and I alone in the living room, sharing

"She's something. That's for sure. She's a bad influence on Jack, I can see that after less than a week" I smiled, thinking back to the infamous pigeon incident the night before.

"Ah well, kids will be kids, right? I mean, I don't have any of my own, but I was one pretty recently." she gave a light chuckle that made her seem seven years younger than she was, and we were in our last year of high school gossiping about our siblings

"Yeah, I've always hoped she'd outgrown this obsession with animals, but it doesn't look like it. Cerys on the other hand prefers cars and trucks" I smiled at the thought of Cerys. I missed my little baby so much now, I was glad it was now only a week until she joined us.

"I can't wait to meet Cerys! I'm obsessed with babies. They're just so cute and hilarious! *sighs* I can't wait to have some. I want to have like, ten kids." she joked, causing me to snort as we moved to the sofa, settling onto opposite ends

"I always swore I'd have about a million, then after the first labour I said 1 more, then Cerys came along and I decided I'd find another guy and have a boy. So thats my goal now" I laughed

"Bow chicka wow-wow. So we need to find you a man!" She grinned, sitting forwards

"Yeah, that's the problem right now." I replied, seeing her turn her thoughts inward

"I hear ya sister. Men are... Complicated." she finished, looking down at the wine glass

"Relationships are complicated. Anyway, we should have a pizza here in 10 for you and I. I have a British comedy series lined up in my DVD player. We can discuss our messed up love lives with pizza, wine and comedy"

"Sounds like a plan! I'm a huge fan of British comedy. This might be cliché but I've loved Monty Python ever since I was little." I smiled, knowing that the Parrot sketch would be quoted later

"Ohhh you'll enjoy this show then, its about a typical family. It's fantastic"

"Great, I can't wait. Let's fire up the DVD!" I smiled, hitting play as the Pizza arrived

"Do you want to get the Pizza and I'll give you some money for it in a minute" I said, fighting with the DVD remote, and getting nowhere fast

"No problem, Shug." She got the pizza the smell of cooked vegetables filled the room. "Woman, you read my mind. Veggie pizza is my favorite, besides Hawaiian!" I laughed, glad we agreed on that

"Reid made me have Hawaiian the other night, I can only have it every so often. I prefer Veggie coz if we have leftovers I can give it to Ffion"

"She doesn't eat meat?" Carrie asked around a mouth full of pizza

"Both she and Cerys inherited a wonderful allergy of their dad, it's to a protein in red meat. Now Ffion is paranoid after a reaction once and she won't eat any meat" I smiled, though not at the memory from a year earlier, and the night in Accident and Emergency with a screaming 6-month-old and an ill 4-year-old. One of my least favourite May Day Bank Holidays.

"That's not so bad. It's perfectly healthy. When I was a resident doctor I treated so many patients with high cholesterol, I don't eat meat very often anymore." she nodded as I grabbed another slice and turned the show on. Not that we were planning on paying any attention too it

"I don't get the option too anymore, with the girls. But, it's healthy. So. What man troubles do you have?" I asked, deciding to get down to the real reason we'd decided to have a girls night after knowing each other all of 9 hours. I laughed loudly as Carrie choked on her pizza

"Um...well…" she wiped her mouth with a napkin, "It's this situation. With Spencer." she finished, Other than Hotch, Reid was about the only person I could count as 'friend' in the States, I wondered what was going on with the guy

"Tell me more? I'm trained to interrogate, remember" I joked, watching as her face turned thoughtful

" Well the first case I went on with the team, over in Baltimore...I tried to save this little girl who'd been attacked by a wolf. She didn't make it, and I was a mess, so Spencer took me home. And well, we had this long emotional talk and...he spent the night. So then all this crazy stuff happened, and Penelope and I were kidnapped and I fought the UNSUB and got stabbed, and Spencer shows up, right in time, like a blessing. So I'm laying there bleeding half to death in his arms, with his GIRLFRIEND of all people sitting beside me, and in my delirium I let it slip that he'd stayed with me. So shit got real with them two, and now it's just this big complicated thing." She took a breath, and carried on getting it all off her chest. "Not to mention once Strauss got wind of it all, she called us in her office and lectured us about fraternization, knowing full and well nearly the whole team is made up of couples. But she told us if we were a couple we couldn't work together anymore. So Spencer said she'd just have to fire us both, which pissed her off. That's why I'm stuck in the lab." she took a couple of deep breaths, and looked at me as I chuckled at her predicament, at least the other woman was out of the picture for hers.

"That is a whole confused mess... I understand the feeling all too well though" I said cryptically, not wanting to get too in depth into my problems until I was asked

"Yeah, I mean it's cool when we're alone, like he came over every day last week while I was recovering. But coming back to work and facing everybody was just awkward." She looked defeated as she continued "I still don't know if we're like, an official couple or anything. I don't know how to bring it up." I laughed, thinking back to Geraint

"Well, I don't think Geraint and I were officially a couple until the day we got engaged. We were married two weeks later. So, just let it get til you're alone, then see where you want to take it then"

"I guess. So what's the deal with Hotch and Veronica? I don't know her too well, but she seems really possessive. I don't reckon she likes you hanging out around Hotch. It doesn't take a profiler to figure that out." She laughed, and then looked at me, she knew my reasons as well as I'd known hers

"Well, I think she's a little jealous. The whole thing with Hotch is a big mess." I took a breath to gather my thoughts, and was glad Carrie didn't interrupt "We've been spending a lot of time together, because Jack and Ffion have bonded almost right away, they are the same age. I don't know anyone here, though I know more now, obviously." I once again paused, thinking how to phrase my relationship with Veronica so far, "Veronica... Well... She won't spend any more time with me than she needs too"

"Ugh, I bet that's uncomfortable." She answered, nodding at me

"Yeah, especially because they live downstairs, and I get a lift in with them every morning" I muttered, shaking my head. Thinking back to the quiet moments where Hotch and I were alone. Thinking particularly to the firing range the day before.

"Wow. Suddenly the deal with Spencer doesn't seem as ridiculous." She laughed, before adding "no offense, of course." she said, while still snickering

"Of course. I suppose the biggest problem is that there is a lot of... tension... between Hotch and I" I didn't add that it was making it difficult to work with him

"That can happen." She replied, taking a drink of her wine "Lord knows the men on this team aren't hard to look at." I laughed and she rolled her eyes

"Ohhh thats for sure. Though I don't think I would want to cross Garcia, I'm slightly scared of her." I said, downing half my glass, then reaching over and topping myself up

"Penny's a doll!" Carrie laughed, making me laugh harder, the wine already going to my head "I've known her since I was ten, she used to watch me while my dad was away on deployments and my mom was busy working. But you're right. When it comes to that man of hers, I wouldn't want to get on her bad side." she laughed, grinning as the chuckles subsided

"I would love to have seen you as a kid. I imagine you as a slightly less hyperactive version of Ffion."

"You would be right. I drove my momma crazy. I started college when I was ten, and I think she just didn't know what to do with me. I was always bringing projects home. When I was 16 and in medical school, momma came to the school to bring me dinner, and literally vomited when I took off my gloves and started eating my sandwich while sitting right next to the human corpse I was examining." she laughed, setting me off as well,

"Being honest, I would probably have thrown my guts if I'd seen that. Either that or I'd have laughed. I was squeamish until I started work as an officer, I don't think I'd be bothered now" I said, slowly realising my capacity for conversation was diminishing

"Probably not. You get desensitized to that stuff pretty quick." Carrie yawned, looking as tipsy and tired as I now felt. I turned my attention to the TV with my last sentence

"yeah, and I was an officer 10 years" I murmured. Before long we were both asleep with the TV still on.

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**only a couple more chapters. Then I've got a case written. Then I'm passing this series over to the capable hands of my co-writer, Clare, for her case. Seriously. GO READ HER STORIES!**


	9. Family Bonding

**Title: Being The New Girl  
****Author: BonesBird  
****Co-Author: clare bones  
****Summary: Bethan and her family move to America and meet the team. The second story in the "No Place To Be" series.  
********Disclaimer: Bethan is mine. Ffion, Cerys and Suzanne are mine. None of the others.**

**Skipped a few days here because the story was beginning to drag on… only one more chapter then I start the next story in this series, which will be a case fic. Gonna finish this one today, then start posting the case tomorrow. Just because I can lol. **

* * *

I had spend most of Thursday and Friday learning my way around the BAU floor, now it was Saturday and I was spending some much needed time alone with my daughter. Ffion had decided she wanted to go to the park. It was May, and it was warm, so I agreed. Packed a picnic basket and set off towards the local park, we were sat on the blanket, both of us holding ice-cream

"Mummy, are you happy here?" Ffion asked, out of the blue, looking up at me with her big blue eyes. She had her dads eyes. I broke whenever she looked at me the way she was now

"Yeah baby. Why?" I asked, smiling as she looked around and then whispered

"Coz this park looks just like the park at home" I laughed as she looked at me gravely "I'm not joking mummy!" She exclaimed, taking another lick of her ice-cream

"I know baby. I think parks look the same everywhere. Are you going to tell me more about school?"

"Its school. My teacher is funny. She can't understand me sometimes, which makes everyone else laugh. But sometimes they can't understand me either"

"Well, sometimes people at work can't understand me" I thought back to a disastrous meeting JJ had called me into, another UK ex-pat had come asking for help, but his strong Birmingham accent had been hard for me to understand, JJ hadn't been able to understand him at all. We got the meeting done eventually, but the poor bloke had had as much trouble understanding my strong mixed accent as I had his. The thought still made me chuck. A few minutes later, once we'd finished the ice-cream, I watched as Ffion ran to the playground, finding a friend to talk to almost right away

"Mummy look!" she shouted as she swung higher. I was laughing when I saw a pair of familiar figures walking down the path near me. I smiled as Jack spotted me and waved. He took Hotch's hand and dragged him over to me. I smiled at them both as Jack sat down, and Ffion ran back over to us. She poked Jack and put her hands on her hips "I thought you weren't coming today?"

"We weren't. I asked daddy to come to the park" Jack said, I watched as Hotch sat himself next to me on the blanket while Ffion pulled Jack away

"Come and play" she said, Jack running off with her. I looked over at Hotch, who was watching our kids run away over to the playground. I smiled as he looked back to me

"I think Ffion and Jack stitched us up" I said, moving over a little so Hotch could get more onto the blanket. I laughed as he picked up an uneaten sandwich

"Yeah. I didn't plan to come out today, but Jack was bored and Veronica is with Garcia"

"Those two seem pretty close" I said, leaning forward to put things back in the picnic basket. He started to help, our hands and arms brushing every so often. Every time they did I got a jolt, and would try to stop it happening again. It wasn't working, and the tension was just building up. We sat in an uncomfortable silence until Ffion and Jack ran back over to us.

"Mummy, can we go back with Jack and Aaron" she said, trying to hide something in her pocket

"What have you got, Ffion?" I asked, looking right at her as she answered

"Nothing" she said, a little too innocently, but I was going to leave her to it until we got home.

"We could do to get going. I need to talk to your aunty Sooz today, they fly out on Monday" I said, packing up the blanket. Hotch and Jack hung about while I packed it away. As we started to walk Ffion took my hand and Hotch's, swinging between the two of us. Jack on my other side, holding my hand. Hotch and I made easy conversation, talking about everything from the weather to the badly disguised feelings between Reid and Carrie. I could see people on the street, who clearly thought we were a family. I didn't mind it too much, I hadn't been part of a "family" in a long time. Since Geraint had died and I'd been left pregnant and with a three year old.

"Mummy, can Jack come round to ours?" Ffion asked, looking up at me as we paused at our building

"Ffion, I wanted to get some more unpacking done." I told, looking down at the two kids then to Hotch

"I can come and help, Veronica won't be home for a few hours, she'll eat with them"

"How about we order in a pizza then?" I asked as we walked up to my flat. The moment I opened the door the kids ran to Ffion's bedroom. I was used to her being in there now. I felt like I already had a teenager. I smiled and pushed a box toward Hotch

"Another box of books, Suzanne shipped them over last night. Hopefully I've got everything now." I laughed, watching as Hotch opened the box and pulled out the kids books. I heard his laughter as he read the titles. Most of them had been mine when I was Ffion's age "They all go on the bottom of the bookcase" I said, smiling as I got out the ladders to put the teddies on the shelf above the door. Ten minutes later I was still doing it when someone brushed my ankle. I'd been in my own world. I jumped and started to fall off the ladders. I felt two hands grab me around the waist and steady me, before lifting me down. I looked up, stood in front of Hotch, his hands still on my hips, I coughed and stepped away, smiling at him to cover my embarrassment.

"Thanks. I'm gonna go see what them kids are doing" I said, "There is a box of cooking stuff, can you just put it in the kitchen" I said, walking to Ffion's room. I could hear her and Jack talking quietly, and they both jumped when I walked in the room. I saw the little grey thing in Jack's hand, and took it off him. Looking at the poor thing

"A mouse? Really kids?" I asked holding the poor thing, it was shaking. I didn't want to think what the kids had been doing to it before I'd come in the room

"It's our new pet" Jack said, as Hotch came into the room

"You're not having a mouse as a pet, Jack" Hotch said, brushing against my side as he looked over my shoulder

"It's dirty, and it smells funny" I said, before walking around to put the mouse in one of the empty boxes, before I could take it down to the grass

"So does Ffion" Jack replied, earning him a push from Ffion. I smiled at Hotch before escaping with the mouse. When I went back up peace had been restored. Hotch was unpacking my kitchen utensils, while Jack and Ffion were reading together on the sofa. I walked up to Hotch and whispered to him

"How have you gotten Ffion to sit down. She won't sit down for me"

"There is something to be said for being scary" Hotch replied. Gaining a chuckle from me as I fought him for more of the utensils.

* * *

**Haha... chapter building up the tension... all will be revealed soon... well... not really.**

**19 days til my holiday. I'm excited!**


	10. Everyone Arrives

**Title: Being The New Girl  
****Author: BonesBird  
****Co-Author: clare bones  
****Summary: Bethan and her family move to America and meet the team. The second story in the "No Place To Be" series.  
****Disclaimer: Bethan is mine. Ffion, Cerys and Suzanne are mine. None of the others.**

* * *

Since the weekend I'd avoided spending time with Hotch alone, or with just the kids. My feelings had been going crazy, being basically alone in a new country. But thankfully today Suzanne and Cerys were arriving. I knew that with both the kids here I wouldn't have as much time to focus on my confused feelings. I was glad that Reid had agreed to drive to pick them up. He'd told me he didn't drive too much, but I hadn't wanted to ask Hotch to do it, and I still didn't have a car of my own. I had promise Reid his tea and a box of teabags. I still wasn't use to the fact that in America, tea was dinner, and dinner was lunch. I had known it, but I still rarely caught myself before saying it the way I'd grown up saying it. Which led to just confusing everyone

"Mummy, I can't fasten my shoe?" Ffion called, breaking me out of my reverie "it's all pinchy"

"They are brand new shoes, Fee. They will be tight. Maybe you should wait until the weekend to break them in" I picked her up, sitting her on the side and taking the shoe off and kissing her foot "this little piggy went to market, this little piggy came home, this little piggy had roast beef, this little piggy had none, and this little piggy went wee, wee, wee, all the way home" I sang, before tickling her foot again. She was giggling hard, I hadn't heard the door open, but when I turned around I saw Hotch stood in the doorway. I smiled at him, putting Ffion back on the floor

"You should really lock your door" he said, looking me up and down. I felt like he could see right through me. I smiled as Ffion ran into her room "Doesn't your other daughter arrive today?"

"Yeah, they should be nearly here. I'm waiting for Reid to drop them off." I said, trying not to brush him off, but being wary of my feelings. I'd been avoiding him at work, which was difficult, as I was still getting lost every 25 minutes and having to ring someone to come and find me.

"Beth, is there a problem?" He said, leaning against the door.

"No, no problem. I'm just busy Hotch." I replied, and turned away. I heard him leave. I breathed a breath of relief, then realised that Reid should be here with Cerys and Suzanne. I was cleaning the countertop when I heard a noise on the landing that sounded like Reid, I turned to look and saw Hotch carrying Cerys, who had clearly been crying. I couldn't help but notice how good Hotch looked carrying my 18-month old. She reached out her arms for me, and I stepped the closest to Hotch I'd been since the weekend, his hand brushed my hair away as I wrapped Cerys up

"Hi baby, did you miss me" I said into her hair as I hugged her "where is Suzanne?"

"Talking to Veronica downstairs" Hotch said, I smiled as Ffion ran out of her bedroom

"Ceri!" she shouted, hugging her baby sister too. I picked them both up and held them to me

"Now we're a family again" I said to them both, before putting them down, allowing Cerys to begin exploring herself. She spotted her toy box on the other side of the room.

"Bethan-bob" Suzanne called as she squeezed past Reid , pulling her suitcase "I thought I'd say hello before I got the walking computer over there to take me to my flat"

"Excuse me, Reid, Bethan. We're needed at the BAU. We're active again." I shrugged at Suzanne,

"There is beer in the fridge, Sooz" I shouted back, as Hotch guided me out of my apartment, and into my first case.

**

* * *

So there we go. Cerys and Suzanne don't get much downtime before Bethan is out on a case. Keep an eye out for my next fic.**

**"Anyway, show me the evidence. Before you think about profilers. They brought me and Carrie into the team to do more with physical evidence. I wasn't a profiler at home. I was a straight up officer. Detective Inspector on homicide. But I have seen the profiles work. A profile saved my daughter, not three weeks ago. I'm gonna hear both sides. If all evidence points to Spence**


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